But it doesn't mention the most significant risks to surrounding communities-namely, what happens if these missiles, which are intended to serve as targets for enemy nuclear weapons, are ever attacked. ![]() The report, required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970, covers the “potential effects on the human and natural environments from deployment of the Sentinel system” and from, among other things, the refurbishing of existing missile silos and the construction of new utility corridors and communications towers. nuclear arsenal and its command-and-control infrastructure. The program is part of a $1.5-trillion effort to modernize the U.S. Air Force released a two-volume, 3,000-plus-page report detailing the environmental impact of its plans to replace all 400 “Minuteman” land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) with new “Sentinel” missiles by the mid-2030s. "First estimates are there would be about 1,500 new people during construction moving in and around these missile areas,” he said.īartel said he hopes they can put permanent infrastructure in place for the Lewistown workforce hub so that after work is completed, it can be converted for community uses – whether housing or something else.īut as for the suspicious Chinese balloon, Bartel and others want answers.This article is part of “ The New Nuclear Age,” a special report on a $1.5-trillion effort to remake the American nuclear arsenal. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming.īartel says the presence of the military in town has been a big boom for the local economy and helped maintain county roads.īut when the construction starts for the missile upgrades, the town will grow even more. It includes the complete renovation of all 450 existing missile launch facilities, and the construction of two dozen new missile alert facilities all over the northwest, including Malmstrom Air Force Base, Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, and F.E. “The missiles have been around since the '60s so now they are being upgraded to the new technology,” said Bartel. The project will replace the aging Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile system. The sites are spread across a 13,800-square-mile missile field that covers parts of eight counties: Cascade, Chouteau, Fergus, Judith Basin, Lewis and Clark, Meagher, Teton and Wheatland. “They are having some redesign issues with the missiles themselves.” It’s been pushed out two years,” he said. “We’ve been told that the project has been pushed out. Now that’s been pushed back, and talks about upgrades with the Air Force suddenly became radio silent. He says the upgrades were set to start in 2025. The upgrades are something Bartel is familiar with because 50 of those missile locations are in Fergus County. Meanwhile, the Department of Defense has been making plans for a massive overhaul of the nuclear missiles scattered across the state. The Department of Defense has referenced these critical zones in its media briefings on the balloon in recent days. “I’d like to find an answer for why it's hanging over our area,” Lewistown lawmaker Dan Bartel said Friday.īartel is a state senator representing a district in Fergus County, an area with some of Malmstrom’s missile sites. It’s a historic and complex program with national security interest, and some are suspecting it’s the reason a Chinese surveillance balloon was seen floating above the state this week. ![]() BILLINGS- Montana’s 341 st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls is responsible for 150 launch facilities across Montana.
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